Antibacterial properties of silver-finished textiles

In this paper, the results of research on the bacteriostatic efficacy of selected silver particles: nano-Ag, sub-micro-Ag, AgCl in the finishing of textiles are presented. Thes hapeand size of the silver compounds used were estimated by analysis of SEM images. The size and size distribution of the silver compounds were also approximated by the Dynamic Light Scattering method (DLS).The experiments prove that the antibacterial treatment of textile fabrics by the padding-squeezing technique using silver compounds in the resin matrix can be easily achieved. SEM images of the silver-finished fabric sindicated that, generally, silver compounds were well dispersed on the fabric surface, but in some cases they form agglomerates of single particles. The Agar Diffusion Test was used to estimate the biological activity of the treated fabrics. Two strains of bacteria: Gram-positive (Bacillus subtilis) and Gram-negative (Escherichia coli) were used for this purpose. The washing fastness of Ag-inishedtextileswasmonitoredusingtwomoderninstrumentalmethods:ICP-OESandLA-ICP-TOF-MS. The results obtained proved the good and long-lasting bacteriostatic efficacy of silver nano particles applied during the finishing of cotton.